Rangeland Management: Results of Recent Work Addressing the Performance of Land Management Agencies

GAO discussed its work on public rangeland management, focusing on: (1) its response to a consultant's critique of three GAO reports issued between 1988 and 1990 on rangeland management; and (2) other reports it has issued regarding rangeland monitoring and livestock grazing activity. GAO noted that: (1) the consultant made numerous criticisms about GAO reports regarding grazing allotments, riparian area restoration, and the federal wild horse program, but GAO believes that the critique includes little factual data to substantiate its assertions and misrepresents report findings to support its positions; (2) other federal and state agencies conducting similar studies reached conclusions that were similar to GAO conclusions; (3) both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Forest Service have taken actions to address the issues raised in the GAO reports; and (4) its reports on BLM and Service rangeland monitoring continue to indicate that neither agency has sufficient staffing and funding to effectively administer or evaluate grazing activities.